The security of lives, infrastructure, monuments and assets is the collective responsibility of every Nigerian, Dr Alfred Chiakor, Chief of Strategic Planning and Innovations, Ashcraft Centre for Social Research has said.
Chiakor stated this at a news conference ahead of the upcoming South-South Zonal Stakeholders Summit on “Domesticating Stakeholders Statutory Responsibilities in Protecting Nigeria’s Critical Infrastructure and Other Assets” on Tuesday in Abuja.
He said that the issues of security, destruction of lives and property affected all religions and ethnicity.
According to him, the partnership and support of all stakeholders, both in the public and private sectors is needed.
According to him, all stakeholders should put aside all prejudices to help forge a common front against the threats to the corporate existence of the nation.
“It is time also to live the slogan that says ‘if you see something, say something; if you hear something, do something.”
“It is incumbent on us all therefore to engage robustly on how to deter and mitigate these challenges in a systematic and coordinated manner.
“This way, we can be sure of preserving our collective heritage and sanctity of our God-endowed resources, both human, technical and material,’’ he said.
Chiakor, who is the Head of Secretariat, Summit Planning Committee, said the planned summit was a private/public partnership aimed at building synergy, tact and appropriate techniques to ensure the protection of critical national infrastructure.
He added that the summit was also aimed at intensifying advocacy for stakeholders’ statutory responsibilities.
According to him, it shall also engender the re-engineering of appropriate legislation and the strategic roadmap for harnessing expert knowledge and country-wide technical support for deterrence, codified response strategy and recovery architecture to Nigeria’s critical assets.
He said it was important to seek renewed commitment to the challenges impacting the integrity of critical infrastructure and assets in the region.
“This includes vandalism and destruction of its complex ecosystem of separate yet interconnected infrastructure in the oil and gas; telecommunications, transportation and power sectors,’’ he added.
Chiakor said expected stakeholders included those from national and state legislature; military, security and intelligence agencies, and private and public sectors.
He said systematic vandalism, degradation and destruction of critical national infrastructure and business assets were major threats to Nigeria’s economic development.
The consequences, according to him, constitute adverse national security risks by undermining investor confidence and depressing the national economy.
He decried the current spate of insecurity across the country and called for concerted efforts in line with the directive of President Muhmmadu Buhari for security agencies to rise to the occasion.
Chiakor said the summit would take place in Port Harcourt on July 25 and July 26.
